Our Values

Our Mission is to help clients grow and manage risk by being the leader in innovation and service. Our mission is underpinned by our values.

Service

Respond quickly to all inquiries

Employ skilled and committed auditors and workers

Issue certificates and reports promptly

Actively seek client feedback and act upon it

Respect

Pay our suppliers on-time

Respond to clients needs

Recognise auditors role in client management

Engage external stakeholders as appropriate

Innovation

Actively seek and explore new ideas

Embrace continual improvement

Use technology in smart ways

Find and implement game changers

Fun

Certification doesn’t need to be tedious

Come to work and make a difference

Be proud of the contribution you have made

Make clients smile from time to time

Our Policies

At Compass we believe it is important to be transparent and to behave with integrity at all times.

Our policies and key procedures govern behaviour and impact on stakeholders such as clients, contractors, suppliers, workers, managers, our directors and the certification community in general. So its important people can access them easily and understand what we do every day and what we will never do.

We have published all of our policies and some key procedures below. Please contact us at info@cas.com.au for further information.

Risk Policy

Compass Assurance Services is committed to delivering outstanding services to our clients, meeting our external requirements and providing a fulfilling work environment for our people. We recognize that effective and responsible risk management processes are required to achieve this.

Our risk objectives are to:

Implement an effective system to assess and manage all risks within agreed tolerance levels and to meet legal obligations;

Recognize and pursue opportunities in a structured and prudent way;

Be risk leaders by doing what we say.

Compass has implemented a risk management system to achieve these goals. Our system is based on meeting the principles and guidelines of ISO 31000:2009 and our legal obligations

We are committed to ensuring necessary resources are available to implement the risk management system. The system is reviewed by the Board on an annual basis and more frequently when circumstances change significantly.

Our workers have a responsibility to identify and consider risk when making decisions, comply with policies and procedures and to take responsibility for risk management as appropriate to their role. Managers are responsible for ensuring the effective implementation of the risk management system. The Board have overall accountability for risk management.

This policy is endorsed by the Board of Directors and the document is owned by the Managing Director. This Policy supports other Compass policies such as the Safety Policy.

Endorsement

Confidentiality Policy

How we do business

Policy Statement

At Compass Assurance Services (“Compass”), we value the trust and confidence of our clients and other stakeholders. We see discretion and confidentiality as inextricable in living our values of service, honesty, integrity and sound investment.

It is our policy that the confidentiality of our clients is not compromised.

Endorsement

Policy Statement

At Compass Assurance Services (“Compass”), we provide our clients with assurance solutions including management system certification, assurance and training. We believe that the foundation for legitimate certification is an objective and impartial auditor and certification decision.

It is our policy that any accredited certification activity for a client is undertaken by workers who:

Understand the concept of impartiality and agrees to the Compass Code of Conduct;

Have not provided management system consulting or internal management system auditing services to the client organisation within the last 2 years;

Have not provided customised management system training to the client organisation that involves the development of new or amended system documents, forms, policies or procedures within the last 2 years.

Have no direct or indirect interest in the client organisation;

Have no undisclosed benefits that relates to the audit findings or success of the client.

It is our policy that any certification issued by Compass:

Is endorsed by the Managing Director;

Represents a fair and unbiased assessment of the client’s management system

Our Board will use its best endeavours to appoint an Impartiality Committee that is made up of a majority of independent members to oversee the impartiality of our business, our auditors and their findings, and the decisions of certification managers.

Governance

The Managing Director will oversee the Impartiality Committee charter.

The Managing Director will report to the Impartiality Committee on an annual basis or more frequently if required.

The Managing Director will develop business systems and an audit plan in support of this policy.

Every worker is responsible for their conduct at work. This policy and its related procedures apply to all workers, managers, committee members and directors of Compass.

What we will do

Take action to respond to any threats to our impartiality arising from the actions of other persons, bodies or organizations;

Offer our accreditation body representatives such reasonable access, cooperation, courtesy, and without harassment; to enable monitoring of our compliance with the Accreditation Criteria;

Not allow commercial, financial or other pressures to compromise impartiality;

Report any situation that may present workers or Compass with a conflict of interests;

Disclose any potential or actual conflict of interest before accepting or commencing any work

Not use workers on client engagements unless they demonstrate that they have no conflict of interests;

Record any actual or potential conflicts of interest;

Evaluate our finances and sources of income and demonstrate to the Impartiality committee and board of directors that commercial and financial matters do not compromise impartiality;

Understand how this policy affects our work environment;

Disclose all gifts from any source greater than $100 to a Compass director

Ask questions if we’re not 100% clear.

What we may do

Arrange and participate as a lecturer in training courses, provided that, where these courses relate to management systems or auditing. Compass will confine itself to the provision of generic information and advice which is publicly available, i.e. Compass will not provide company-specific advice which contravenes the requirements of 2 below;

Make available or publish on request information describing Compass’s interpretation of the requirements of certification audit standards

Carry out activities prior to audit solely aimed at determining readiness for certification audit; however, such activities will not result in the provision of recommendations or advice that would contravene this clause and they are not used to justify a reduction in the eventual certification audit duration.

Perform second and third-party audits according to standards or regulations other than those being part of the scope of accreditation

Add value during certification audits and surveillance visits, e.g. by identifying opportunities for improvement, as they become evident during the audit, without recommending specific solutions

Deliver published courses to clients and the public in the classroom, at the client’s premises and remotely providing it is in accordance with our policy statement

What we will never do

Engage with business partners or in activities that create a conflict of interest;

Act in any way that contravenes this policy;

Witness any act that contravenes this policy without reporting it;

Certify another certification body or a subsidiary of Compass for its management system certification;

Outsource audits to a management system consultancy organization;

Market or offer our services as linked with the activities of a management system consultancy firm;

Certification Mark Policy

Policy Statement

The Compass Assurance Services (“Compass”) certification mark is valued by our clients as sign of credibility in management system certification.

It is our policy to protect this mark and use our best endeavours to ensure its appropriate use by clients.

Our Commitments

We Will:

Control the use of certification marks and accreditation symbols via client agreements.

Only provide permission to use marks and accreditation symbols in legitimate circumstances

Check for proper use during client audits

Be sure that our mark is recognisable and clearly denotes the certification gained through Compass.

Provide our clients with access to marks and symbols to promote their business and the certification industry appropriately

Use of Certification Marks & Accreditation Symbols

Compass Assurance Services “Compass” clients must only use certification marks and accreditation symbols in a way that accurately reflects the scope of their certification. This includes sites and locations certified and the management systems certified.

Certification marks and/or accreditation symbols must not be used in a way that could be misinterpreted as endorsing a product certification, laboratory tests, calibration or inspection report. Product packaging is considered as that which can be removed without the product disintegrating or being damaged. Accompanying information is considered as separately available or easily detachable. Type labels or identification plates are considered as part of the product. The statement shall in no way imply that the product, process or service is certified by this means.

Accreditation symbols must always be used in conjunction with our logo and/or certification mark and your name and/or logo as well as the standard being certified.

This use of certification marks and/or accreditation symbols must not be misleading or ambiguous in any way.

Clients must accept the Use of Certification Marks & Accreditation Symbols conditions as included in their Compass contract before they may use a Compass certification mark and/or accreditation symbol

Monitoring & Reporting

The effectiveness of this policy will be monitored. An annual review of its effectiveness will be made by the Board.

Endorsement

This policy is endorsed by the Board of Directors and the document is owned by the Managing Director

1. Policy Statement

At Compass Assurance Services (“Compass”), we rely on strong partnerships to achieve our strategic objectives. We are committed to ensuring that all outsourcing arrangements reflect our values of service, honesty, integrity and sound investment.

It is our policy that all material business partners acknowledge our code of conduct and meet the requirements of our outsourcing procedures. All outsourcing arrangement will be free from conflicting interests, bribes, kickbacks or personal benefit.

It is our policy that we will never outsource functions of impartiality and certification and never outsource audits to a management system consultancy firm.

1.1 What we will do

Check the reputation and credentials of material business partners;

Take responsibility for all activities outsourced to other parties;

Ensure all Compass documents relating to outsourcing are completed and stored;

Engage business partners that are in the best interests of Compass’s strategic goals and your business units business objectives;

Ensure all Compass Employees and Contractors understand how this policy affects the audits and activities they undertake for Compass.

Compass Employees and Contractors will report on any violations of this policy to a Compass Director or, if appropriate, to the Impartiality Committee Chairman.

Compass Employees and Contractors will raise the issue with Compass if not 100% clear on issues of impartiality.

1.2 What we will never do

Engage business partners that create a conflict of interest;

Act in any way that contravenes this policy;

Outsource audits to a management system consultancy;

Witness any act that contravenes this policy without reporting it;

Make with arrangements with business partners that are not disclosed in a contractual agreement.

1.3 Questions:

Any questions relating to this policy should be directed to a Director. If that’s not appropriate please direct the questions to the Impartiality Committee Chairman at impartialitychairman@cas.com.au

1.4 Monitoring and Reporting

The effectiveness of this policy will be monitored. An annual report of its effectiveness will be made to the Board.

1.5 Review

This Policy will be reviewed at least annually.

2. Endorsement

This policy is endorsed by the Board of Directors and the document is owned by the Managing Director

2. Audit Process

Compass will make available upon request information describing these processes. This is the responsibility of the Managing Director.

3. Advertising and Public Available Information

Compass commits to ensuring the information provided to the marketplace including advertising or directly to clients is accurate and not misleading. Compass commits to taking action to rectify any errors or misleading information as quickly as is reasonably practicable.

4. Certification

Compass Assurance Services make available information on active clients to JASANZ who publish this information in a public forum www.jas-anz.org.

On request from any party, Compass shall confirm the validity of a given certification. This may be by phone if the information is publicly available such as confirming a certificate status is active. For confirmation of withdrawal or suspension, a written request is required and Compass Assurance’s response will be in writing and is the responsibility of the Managing Director.

1. Purpose & Our Commitment

The purpose of this procedure is to describe the process that all stakeholders may initiate to lodge a complaint or an appeal with Compass Assurance Services Pty Ltd “Compass”.

Compass is committed to continually improving our service and see feedback as a key input into this process. We encourage feedback so that we may resolve your concern in a constructive and timely manner and so that we may improve our business.

We take all complaints and appeals seriously and commit to resourcing the complaints resolution process in an appropriate manner. We take full responsibility for decisions related to complaints and appeals. We recognise that clients and stakeholders have the right to provide feedback or make a complaint. We commit to dealing with all complaints and appeals fairly and without prejudice at all times ensure confidentiality is maintained.

We commit to managing complaints and appeals in a timely manner and providing ongoing feedback throughout the complaint resolution process. Compass aim to have every complaint and appeal resolved within a 3 month period from lodgement.

2. The Complaints and Appeal Process

An appeal is an application for reversal of a decision. An appeal may be lodged with regard to an audit finding such as a non-conformance or a certification decision such as to grant, suspend or withdraw a certificate.

A complaint is a statement that something is unacceptable or unsatisfactory.

2.1 Lodging A Complaint or an Appeal

Appeals or complaints must in the first instance be lodged directly with Compass.

These can be submitted by emailing the Managing Director care of info@cas.com.au or in writing care of Level 1, 135 Queen Street, Cleveland, QLD 4163.

For more information on lodging a complaint or an appeal you may phone the Managing Director on 1300 495 855.

2.2 Initial Handling

All complaints and appeals relating to Compass or Compass clients or workers are scanned for validity and are then lodged in our corrective action database and given a unique corrective action number, responsible person, date of lodgement and target resolution date. A letter confirming the corrective action number and acknowledging receipt of the complaint are sent to the initiator within 5 working days.

2.3 Resolution Process

The nominated responsible person is responsible for managing the resolution process. The responsible person will be someone who is a competent person, independent and has not been involved in the client specific audit or certification decision.

The responsible person will analyse the complaint, taking into consideration other complaints and the overall management system of the client and determine a cause. An action plan will then be developed to correct the current issue and for corrective action.

If the complaint in question refers to a certified client then the responsible person will notify the client at an appropriate time.

The action plan will be approved by the Managing Director and then actioned as soon as is reasonably practicable.

The responsible person may nominate action owners but is ultimately responsible for the resolution process.

Once the action plan has been deployed and completed a review is undertaken by a person not involved in the complaint to ensure the corrective actions were effective. Written confirmation of the actions taken and the status of the resolution will be sent to the initiator and the complaint will be closed.

Compass shall only on the basis of consultation with its client and the complainant whether and to what extent, the subject of the complaint and its resolution shall be made public.

If the complaint has not been resolved within the nominated time frame, the complainant may escalate the complaint to the Managing Director for immediate review.

2.4 Tracking Process

Initiators may contact the Managing Director care of info@cas.com.au or in writing care of PO Box 1408 Cleveland, QLD, 4163 or by phone on 1300 495 855 stating their name, address and the unique corrective action number. Written confirmation of status of complaint will be sent no less than on a quarterly basis.

The Managing Director reviews all complaints and appeals as part of the monthly board meeting any complaints or appeals that have not been closed within the target resolution date are discussed at the board meeting to ensure appropriate resources are available and the complaint has the appropriate priority.

2.5 Formal Review

All complaints and appeals are reviewed at board meetings and at the impartiality committee meetings. Top management review Complaints and corrective actions are also an input into the formal management review process of Compass’s Quality Management System.

2.6 Escalation

If unhappy with the outcome of the Compass review of your complaint and the decisions made by Compass then initiators have a right to make a formal complaint to JAS-ANZ www.jas-anz.com.au. All complaints or appeals unresolved by Compass within 3 months of our target resolution date are brought to the attention of JAS-ANZ by Compass.

Safety Policy

How we do business

Policy Statement

Compass Assurance Services is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for all its workers including contractors; and to operate in such a way to as to cause zero harm to all stakeholders including workers, neighbours, suppliers, clients and the general public.

To achieve this, we will:

Comply with all relevant OHS legislation and other requirements to which Compass Assurance Services subscribes (or are placed upon Compass Assurance Services)

Ensure health and safety is considered in all our work planning activities

Identify all potential hazards in the work place, with the aim of eliminating them completely or minimising their risk.

Develop and maintain a management system with measurable objectives and targets which will undergo regular review to improve the system.

Involve workers (including contractors) in decision making processes through regular communication and consultation.

Ensure all accidents are thoroughly investigated to prevent their recurrence.

Monitoring & Reporting

The effectiveness of this policy will be monitored. An annual review of its effectiveness will be made by the Board.

Endorsement

This policy is endorsed by the Board of Directors and the document is owned by the Managing Director.

Compass Assurance Services Pty Ltd is committed to providing you with the best possible customer service experience. Compass Assurance Services Pty Ltd is bound by the Privacy Act 1988, which sets out a number of principles concerning the privacy of individuals.

Collection of your personal information

There are many parts of the site which can be viewed without providing personal information, however, there are some pages where you are required to submit personally identifiable information. This information may be needed in the provision of a service, or to allow recovery of a lost password.

Sharing of your personal information

We may occasionally hire other companies to provide services on our behalf, including but not limited to handling customer support enquiries, processing transactions or customer freight shipping. These companies will be provided only the personal information they need to deliver the service. Compass Assurance Services Pty Ltd takes reasonable steps to ensure that these organisations are bound by confidentiality and privacy obligations in relation to the protection of your personal information.

Use of your personal information

For each visitor to the site, we collect the following non-personally identifiable information, including but not limited to browser type, version and language, operating system, pages viewed while browsing the site, page access times and referring website address. This collected information is used solely internally for the purpose of gauging visitor traffic, trends and delivering personalised content to you while you are at this site.

Changes to this privacy policy

Compass Assurance Services Pty Ltd reserves the right to make amendments to this Privacy Policy at any time. If you have objections to the Privacy Policy, you should not access or use the site.

Accessing your personal information

You have a right to access your personal information. Requests must be submitted in writing.

Contacting us

Compass Assurance Services Pty Ltd welcomes your comments regarding this privacy policy. If you have any questions about this privacy policy or would like further information, please contact us.

Fit and Proper Person Policy

Policy Statement

At Compass Assurance Services (“Compass”), we value the trust and confidence of our clients and other stakeholders. We see ensuring all staff are of ‘fit and proper person status’ is essential for delivery of our services.

It is our policy that all staff be deemed to be of fit and proper person status prior to engagement with Compass Assurance, and that we ensure staff maintain fit and proper person status during their engagement with Compass Assurance.

Responsibility

Ultimately our Managing Director and General Manager are responsible ensuring fit and proper person status of all staff.

The General Manager will develop a self-declaration process to support this policy. Clients with specific fit and proper persons identified during the application process.

Every worker is responsible for their conduct at work and declaring they are of fit and proper person status. This policy and its related procedures apply to all workers, managers and directors of Compass.

What we will do

Auditors will be required to submit a self declaration that they are of fit and proper person status as per form 3015.

Client specific fit and proper person requirements will be identified during the application process, this will be recorded on the application duration form 3003

Auditors assigned to clients with additional fit and proper persons requirements will be required to provide additional information (such as police checks or working with children checks) to support their fit and proper person status.

Treat information about our clients as confidential unless obliged to do otherwise legally or as part of our accreditation obligations;